Black Klaw
Black Klaw is the leader of the Iron Klaw raider gang. Obsessed with the idea of ‘improving’ himself through the replacement of flesh and blood with machinery, Black Klaw has used that philosophy as the basis of the gang’s operations and goals. History Black Klaw was born Mark Benjamin Michaels in an isolated community in central Nebraska in 2257. His family chose to take an isolationist stance form the outside world, instead trying to preserve their own heritage while avoiding persecution for their beliefs. The community were descendants of surviving members of the Reaver movement, which flourished in the Midwest in the late 22nd Century. The bulk of the Reaver movement were either wiped out or captured by the Chicago chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel or the Calculator’s army, but a number of them had survived the conflict. As he grew, Michaels was indoctrinated into the Reavers, their beliefs and their ways. The keystone of which was a series of religious beliefs built around the worship of technology through a pantheon which was, in turn, based on a misunderstanding of pre-war concepts. In order to better connect with their gods, the Reavers used pre-war cybernetics to augment themselves and their abilities; in essence, to show their reverence for technology, they aimed to become machines themselves. Mark Benjamin Michaels was a descendant of one of those survivors. While long separated by time and distance from the Reavers, his family had maintained their cybernetics, passing them down from generation to generation. By the time they reached him, most were no longer functional, their use more ceremonial then practical. None the less, at his coming of age in 2273, he did undergo modification and received optical enhancements as well as a sensor unit to enhance his abilities. While Michaels paid lip service to his family and their beliefs, he personally felt that they were wasting these gifts by remaining secreted away from the rest of the world. To his mind, all they were doing was preserving the remnants of a dead culture, rather then seeking ways to utilise the gifts that technology had given them. He began to sneak out from the community’s compound, exploring the world around him. His goal was not just to learn more about others, but also about technology and the ways it could be used to augment humans and make them more powerful. He found that the most prominent group in the region was the Brotherhood of Steel, who did their utmost to preserve pre-war technology and try to understand it, but did not seem to willingly embrace augmentation. Realising that they were not the key to his future, he began to look elsewhere. In many ways, Michaels found Raiders to hold the most promise for what he sought. Many of the raider gangs of the region were relatively primitive, being little more then low-technology tribals, driven to the fringes of society by the Brotherhood. Many of them had next to know understanding of technology beyond firearms and, and saw advanced devices like computers or robots to be magical or even monstrous. He saw such primitive and superstitious peoples as being ripe for exploitation, while also being the key to his future. Michaels left home in 2275, and spent the next four years working as a mercenary in the wastelands of Kansas and Nebraska. During this time he learned how to fight and became skilled with various weapons, as well as gaining a better understanding of tactics and the psychology of warfare. While he did use his augmentations to aid himself, Michaels was careful to conceal them from others as to not give away his true nature or his origins. He also used this time to examine several raider/tribal groups in detail, and find one that would be best suited to his needs. Leaving the mercenary life behind, Michaels forged a new identity for himself, taking the name Black Klaw. In 2279, he approached the Sun Fang raider gang and demanded to see their leader. Several tribals tried to stop him, only to be easily driven back and cowed by him. Confident, he approached their leader, a towering hulk of a man known as Ironfoot who loomed over Michaels. Not intimidated at all (and taking his time to study the man using his augmented vision and other senses) Michaels simply slew him on the spot, taking advantage of a poorly healed cracked rib. Claiming leadership of the tribe for himself, Black Klaw dared anyone who disagreed with him to step forward and challenge his claim. None did. Over the next year, Black Klaw became an active war leader for the Tribe, directing their attacks himself. He made extensive use of his augmentations to aid him, which many in the tribe saw as a form of powerful magic rather then functional technology. They began to treat him with awe and reverence, a fact that Black Klaw played on for all its worth. Using this reverence, Black Klaw was able to reshape the gang into his own image, turning a group of rabble into a deadly fighting force. He absorbed several other gangs by force, taking control of a large swathe of the northern Kansas wastelands and uniting them under the banner of what he called the Iron Klaw. While he had a powerbase, Michaels saw himself as being more then just another petty raider warlord. He had maintained an interest in human augmentation and modification, and sought out sources of technology that could be used to further enhance himself and others. He came to believe that the Reaver movement was correct to embrace technology, but ultimately flawed in its reverence. Discarding their false pantheon and silly superstitions, he developed his own beliefs that machinery was superior to human flesh, and that one should embrace that superiority through cybernetic augmentation. However, he was still limited by a lack of technology; the Reavers’ original sources were long-depleted, and there were no groups that he knew of with the capacity to manufacture cybernetics. Certainly the territories he controlled across Kansas and Nebraska were of little help, being mostly scattered tribal and scavenger communities that possessed little functioning technology of any kind. His luck changed in 2283 when reports reached him of a town called Clay Centre where there had been unusual technology passing through the markets. Not only did it include pre-war computers and other advanced electronics, but the reports also included robotic eyes and limbs, ones that were described as being ‘different’ to normal scavenged robot parts. Furthermore, many of these parts were in good condition and nearly new, rather then suffering the centuries of abuse and wear common to technology in the Wastelands. Black Klaw sent agents to the town to learn more about it and where it had come from. After confirming that the tech was indeed cybernetic upgrades, the Iron Klaw captured and interrogated the merchant who had been selling them to find the source of his wares. He quickly cracked, and revealed that he had been getting them from an abandoned typewriter factory on the outskirts of the town that had been largely overlooked by the locals. Fascinated, Black Klaw himself and a team of his most loyal followers went to investigate the facility. While much of the above ground portion of the facility had long ago been stripped by scavengers, he found something far more interesting lurking below. Before the war, the Factory had been converted into a cybernetics research and development facility and assembly line. While much of the machinery was non-functional, there was still an ample stockpile of cybernetics simply awaiting installation. Iron Klaw took this as a validation of his cause, and took it upon himself to undergo several further modifications using the stockpiled technologies. Emerging from the factory as half-man, half-machine, he convinced the Iron Klaw of the power of his ‘gifts’ and offered those loyal to him a chance to embrace what he preached was the way of the future. His immediate inner circle saw his transformation as being a divine act, proof of his abilities and his vision. They all immediately agreed to undergo augmentation, all driven by a desire to share in their leader’s vision and to possess the same ‘magical’ powers as he had. Soon Iron Klaw possessed a core of loyal cyborg agents, who in turn were used to impress his other followers. First, however, he needed to secure his future. The gang descended upon the factory in force, taking control of it and blockading it against any further intrusion. With the factory in their hands, he began to reform the Iron Klaw in his image. Over the course of the next month, much of the leadership and upper ranks of the Black Klaw gang underwent augmentations, with Black Klaw himself deciding how ‘worthy’ they were to receive modifications. Those in positions of power that opposed this plan were eliminated in bloody and public ways, both to scare others into line and to demonstrate the power of their new abilities. Other were used as test subjects for the rest of the gang to try out their new abilities. And while there were a few who died during the surgical process, their cybernetics were immediately reinstalled into the next willing subject. By the end of this period, every member of the gang had received at least one implant, with many of their leaders having undergone extreme modifications. During this time, the people of Clay Centre gave the factory a wide berth, hoping that the raiders would simply take whatever they wanted from it and then leave them be. Instead, the town was descended upon by an army of crazed half-men, who slaughtered anyone who offered even a hint of resistance. Having secured the town, Black Klaw declared it to be his new seat of power, renaming it Steelgrave. Having established a foothold, Black Klaw set about expanding his reach. He began aggressively pursuing other raider gangs, offering them the chance to join his ‘cause’ and undergo cybernetic upgrades themselves. Those that accepted became members of the Iron Klaw, equipped with whatever augmentations that were available. Those that refused were either enslaved or killed. The Klaw were far less magnanimous towards their targets, the communities, traders, farms and whatever else they raided. Anyone who offered even a hint of resistance was gruesomely killed, with the Klaw taking whatever they wanted. However, Iron Klaw was careful to avoid any entanglements with the Chicago Brotherhood of Steel, knowing full well that his gang lacked the strength to take them on. He was careful not to draw attention to his activities, especially as he was concerned that the Brotherhood might try to confiscate the gang’s technology for their own. Instead, he figured that as long as he stuck to the tribals and small communities of northern Kansas and Nebraska away from the Brotherhood’s reach, he would be safe. These campaigns yielded the Iron Klaw considerable gains in terms of territory and manpower, but also came at a cost. Investigation of the factory revealed that most of its machinery was inoperable, leaving the Iron Klaw without a source of new cybernetics. Added to this, the initial round of upgrades had effectively depleted its stocks, leaving them with very little reserve of augmentations. Realising these limitations, Black Klaw slowed their campaigns, instead moving to consolidate their claims and solidify their hold on what they had. At the dame tine, he ordered their few skilled technicians to ty and make the factory operational again in the hope that they can resume production. Likewise, he ordered the gang to search for new sources of technology that could be used as an alternative to factory-made augmentations. Secretly, Black Klaw has become concerned that if he does not find a new source of augmentations, then his vision of the future might fail. While it poses a considerable risk, he has begun to consider moving against the Brotherhood of Steel in order to secure skilled agents who would have a greater understanding of advanced pre-war technology. While for the moment the associated risk has kept him form acting on this plan, as time goes on he has begun to consider that such an outcome might be inevitable. Personality Black Klaw sees himself as being more then just another raider warlord who has carved out their own chunk of the wasteland. While the territory he controls is substantial (Making him the second biggest power in Kansas after the Chicago Brotherhood), that is less important to him then his ‘vision’ of man and machine unified as one. He has become convinced that the only way for humanity to move forward is to thoroughly embrace technology, in essence becoming more machine then human themselves. Added to this, he believes that the old world was hopelessly decadent and corrupt, and that it was its own failings that bought on the great war and its destruction. He feels that in order for humanity to move forward, any remnants of the old world need to be destroyed, in essence torn down so that humanity can restart anew. This includes those groups that seek to preserve or maintain the past, such as the Brotherhood of Steel. He likewise holds the Reavers (or what’s left of them) in contempt, seeing them as worshipping ‘false gods’ without actually understanding what they were doing. As a warlord, he is ruthless in pursuit of his goals. He sees mercy and compassion as being signs of weakness, and that proof of the failings of humanity that bought down the old world. As a leader, he is demanding of his followers, and rarely tolerates any failure. Dissident is dealt with harshly, and usually through the immediate execution of those that question his rule. Above all else, he thoroughly believes in his own creed, and goals for humanity. Appearance Mark Benjamin Michaels was already a towering and imposing figure before he underwent augmentations. He has thoroughly embraced his own beliefs, having undergone extensive cybernetic reconstruction over time. All four of his limbs have been replaced with mechanical prosthesis, all stronger and more powerful then the originals. Due to the heavy metal armour that he wears, it it is often hard to tell what is armour and what is a prosthesis. Black Klaw’s face is rarely seen, and instead is usually hidden behind a metal mask. Over time, legends have grown up about what lies beneath, ones that usually are horrific in and of themselves. He does very little to discourage these, feeling that it adds to his presence, transforming him into some sort of living legend. Equipment As the leader of the Iron Klaw gang and their messiah figure, Black Klaw is the most extensively augmented of the force. All four limbs have been replaced with pre-war technology, giving him greatly enhanced strength and speed beyond that of a normal human. Spinal reinforcement also serves to boost his capabilities while rendering him somewhat resistant to harm. He also boasts optical enhancements, sensory augmentations, data processors and other modifications. The result is that not only is he a powerful killing machine, but he is also able to efficiently and effectively monitor and command his troops, which is a massive advantage in the often disorganised battles of the wastelands. In public or in the field, he wears a suit if armour forged from scrap metal, complete with a mask that serves to hide his features. The armour is designed to resemble his prosthetic limbs, which helps suggest that he is even more machine to outsiders. While he has access to a number of different weapons, his personal favourites are a pair of blades taken from a destroyed Assaultron Robot and modified to be attached to his forearms. Category:Characters Category:Raiders Category:Cyborgs